HIGH TAIL ACRES, LLC

09/08/2024

We had a busy SUNDAY FUN DAY with one of our largest Fall Fun Shows to date!!! Only managed to snap a few quick pics. It was a great day for our students who participated! Thank you to Jenna for a great job judging. Thank you to our center ring crew and to all who helped everything run so smoothly! So happy with ALL of our students performances. Eryn will post the link for photos soon!

07/28/2024

Copied from Littlebourne Equestrian Centre

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day's riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor's highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself "what can this horse teach me today?" All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it's more likely that you don't ride the horse as well as you think! It's not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that "it's not my kind of horse" is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it's only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it's back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎

07/15/2024

We had a Fun and Hot first week of our HTA Summer Horsemanship Program! Great kids, counselors and horses!!! Enjoy the candids we were able to capture from the first week!!!

06/21/2024

Maybe we will get a little relief from this heat and humidity after this Thunderstorm ⛈️ rolls through!!!

06/20/2024

Horses will be happy for this sweet treat 🍉 in the heat tomorrow!!!

06/09/2024

Officially a FUN day today! Even with the rain and the cool temps this morning our HTA Summer Fun Show was a huge success! Love seeing our seasoned riders and drivers make the most of it and all of our up and coming students really rose to the occasion! Special thanks to our judge Lisa for spending her time with us today and her words of encouragement to our young students! The ice cream sundaes at the end of the show were quite the hit too!

05/30/2024

This was such a fun evening! Looking forward to the next one!!!!

05/30/2024

Teach your parent night was so much fun! A great time was had by all!
Our lesson student’s taught their parent the basic skills of riding and everything that goes into it. We are very proud of our kids and their teaching abilities…every parent got their post and learned how to tack and untack their horses!! 💙🩵

05/20/2024

Imagine you’re assigned a partner project in school. Only one of you gets to read the directions for the assignment, and then you have to explain it to your partner in a language that is secondary to both of you. You’d expect some miscommunications and misunderstandings, right?

That’s basically what’s happening while riding a horse. Whether in a lesson or a ride of your own direction, you as the rider are the only one who knows the assignment. It’s then your responsibility to relay that information to your horse, speaking through intention and cues that are a second language to both you and your horse. Your horse doesn’t understand what your trainer is saying he’s supposed to do - he’s relying on you to tell him.

Keep this in mind any time you’re riding and you feel like your horse isn’t listening, or you get frustrated with a missed distance or a sloppy transition. Remember that you’re the only member of this team who knows the assignment, and your horse is relying on you to tell him the game plan. Sometimes we make mistakes in our cues or our timing, we start thinking too many steps ahead or we forget to clue him into the next movement in time. Sometimes the horse is a little distracted, or tired, or not feeling it today. But most of the time, he’s doing his best he can with the information you’re giving him!

05/18/2024

05/12/2024

I hope all of our Amazing Moms were able to enjoy their Mother’s Day today💐

05/02/2024

A faint rainbow after the rain showers this afternoon!

04/29/2024

We have a student missing a black pair of Alympic jods from UPHA Spring Premiere. Pls check your bags for an extra pair of jods. Most likely would have been in the Academy changing room. Thanks! 😊

04/25/2024

Thank you to and for getting some candids of some of our Academy crew!

04/25/2024

Special thanks to and for the candids

04/25/2024

Special thanks to for the candids!
Enjoy!

04/19/2024

04/15/2024

A welcoming sight this morning for the first show of the season!!

04/14/2024

Congratulations to these two ladies Nina Swain and Dawn DelTorchio and their “Hero” Arrowhead’s Captain America on achieving Champion status for Show Pleasure Driving for ASHBA Region 12!

04/12/2024

JEHANNES VANDE SYL

March 12, 1995 - April 10, 2024

Everyone has that special horse, the horse that everyone knows and loves. For us, we have several… but in the back barn Jehannes was that horse. He had something about him that drew many people to him. It was his presence and his kind brown eyes. To some it felt like he spoke to your soul.

He was regal and stoic. Loved beyond measure. And kind as they come. He kept everyone on their toes, would get pushy if he wanted to go out, and at times would try and sneak out if you weren’t paying attention. If his Mom (Kim) would take him out to get groomed or for grass he carefully placed each foot as far away as possible to avoid stepping on her and wouldn’t move a muscle while being groomed. He loved nothing more than to be groomed and would soak up all the attention when the camp kids would groom or bathe him. He loved to spend his days outside with his buddies (Jesse, HP and Farley). He made his presence known and made sure all his buddies knew with just a look that he was boss and not one to mess with.

If “J” wasn’t in his stall, hanging his head out over his stall guard, you could find him in the back barn paddock standing under “his” tree. He watched over the barn and everyone else in turn out. He was the type of horse that we could turn anybody out with due to his behavior and mannerisms. He showed them the ropes and taught them how to enjoy being turned out. But he was always the “king of the paddock”. He was the alpha horse in the herd. He especially enjoyed his sunset turnout on hot days. With a simple clap of our hands and “J come on” he would walk right into his stall and devour his hay stretcher. He preferred to be turned out without a halter on. It shouldn’t go unmentioned that almost daily during turnout, the deer were almost always present. “J” loved hanging out with this deer friends.

During the warmer days Abi and Darla would bodyclip him. He was a gentleman until we got too close to his ears or anywhere near his forelock. He would suddenly be the tallest horse in the barn and we often had to leave his white patch of hair unshaven under his forelock.

Besides being outside, “J” loved no one more than his mom (Kim) and Deana. Deana took care of him from the first day he came to us, 8 years ago. From that day on, Deana and Jehannes had a special bond that was irreplaceable. They had a strong understanding of each-other. To know “J” was to love him. Jehannes will be deeply missed by all and the back barn will never be the same without him. We send our sincere condolences to Kim and our gratitude for allowing us to take care of him for the last 8 years. We loved him like he was ours. ❤️

04/07/2024

Who’s excited for show season? After this weekend, we are! Enjoy the few candids I was able to capture Saturday and Sunday. We had a great time, learned a lot, had great show horse and rider and driver presentations today as well as great food! Thank you all for a great weekend and Thank you all for entrusting us with your kids… 2 and 4 legged!

03/18/2024

Copied and it’s worth reading…

As we enter Horse Show Season
1. Horses don’t get broke at home. Be brave and enter!
2. EVERY disappointment at the show is a learning opportunity..... Be humble, be open to change.
3. Everyone gets nervous. Everyone has bad days. Everyone makes mistakes. Literally: EVERYONE!
4. Don’t watch others in the warmup ring and start changing what you have been doing - if you see something cool or you want to step up your game that’s homework for after the show!
5. When we run out of knowledge, we often punish our horses. Seek help instead.
6. Be a competitor! But be a horseman first. There is always someone watching who sees you as a role model.
7. Supporting your fellow competitors and engaging with people will enrich your show life.
8. Know the rules of competition! Make sure your attire and tack is legal. Read the rule book, ask questions and be well prepared.
9. Have FUN, don’t sweat the small stuff!

~Julia Keil Quibell~

06/12/2023

The latest spread in the Saddle Horse Report! Love 💕 how it came out!

06/11/2023

Today was a FUN day at HTA! Proud of all our riders, and horses! It was a great opportunity for our show and academy riders to showcase their skills and we had a bunch of newbies step up and show today with great success! Special thanks to our show ring staff! Thank you all for joining us today!